There are four primary types of drug sample: urine, hair, saliva, and blood. Most common is the urine test which has the benefit of being inexpensive and less intrusive than the blood test.

Urine Tests

Are the least expensive of the test methods

Can be done at home (for example by parents)

Detect use primarily within the past week (longer with regular use)

Can be affected by abstaining from use for a period of time before the test

Are often temperature tested to insure sample integrity

Hair Tests

Are considered the least intrusive method of drug testing

Are currently many times more expensive than urine tests

Detects substance use over a longer period

Do not usually detect use within the past week

Requires a sample of hair about the diameter of a pencil and 1.5 inches long – test cannot be done with a single hair

Test positive a little more than twice as often as a urine test

Are not significantly affected by brief periods of abstinence from drugs

Can sometimes be used to determine when use occured and if it has been discontinued

Claims to be able to reliably differentiate between opiate and poppy seed use

Saliva Tests

Can be done at home (for example by parents)

Detect use primarily within the past week (longer with regular use)

Can be affected by abstaining from use for a period of time before the test

Blood Tests

Are considered the most intrusive method of testing

Are the most expensive method of testing

Are the most accurate method of testing

Are the least common method of testing (most likely due to cost)

Drug Detection Periods

Detection Periods

The amount of time any drug can be detected in one’s system can vary from person to person and test to test. It certainly can also depend on the amount of the drug taken and when it was taken relative to the time of the test. Keeping in mind that there is no 100% hard and fast rule for how long a drug will be in one’s system, listed below are some general guidelines on the drug test detection time for various drugs.

Approximate Detection Time in Urine

Alcohol 1-5 days

Amphetamines (crystal, Ice, crank, methamphetamines) 5-7 days

Barbituates Short-Acting (ie. secobarbital) 1-4 days

Barbituates Long-Acting (ie. phenobarbital) 2-3 weeks

Benzodiazepines (Librium®,Valium®,Serax,Xanax®) 2-45 days

Cannabinoids (THC,Marijuana) 20-90 days

Clenbuterol 2-4 days

Cocaine (Crack) 3-7 days

Codeine 2-5 days

Euphorics (MDMA, Ecstasy) 3-7 days

LSD 1-4 days

Methadone 3-5 days

Methaqualone (Quaalude) l-14 days

Opiates (heroin, Vicode, morphine, codeine) 2-7 days

Phencyclidine (PCP, Angel Dust) 1-30 days

Phenobarbital 10-20 days

Propoxyphene (Darvon) 1-3 days

Psilocybin (mushrooms) 3-5

Steroids (anabolic) oral 14 days

About False Positives

False Positives

False positive test results can be attributed to human error and sample contamination. In addition, there are a number of controlled and uncontrolled substances that will cause a false positive result; these are some of the reasons why labs will immediately split your specimen into two samples. See our False Positive Information to find out more.